Tears in the Wind
by oh-my-marauder
Summary: It was just supposed to be a normal mission. Shadowing a jonin, guarding the client, and then done. Kana Soyokaze would get paid and be finished. But, a failed mission comes back to haunt her on her quest with Team 7, and an old grudge threatens all five of the ninjas' lives. How will Kana face what she's been running from for over three years? Will Team 7 be changed forever?


The Fifth Hokage slid the scroll to the chūnin standing across from her desk.

"Kana Soyokaze," Lady Tsunade addressed, "I have a B-Rank mission for you to complete. Before you go, however," she pauses, and handed her sheets, all containing information on available genin-jōnin team sheets, "For this mission, I want you to shadow a jōnin of your choosing. Learn how to train and help genin. You will be a jōnin soon, and it is of high importance to learn this as soon as you can."

Kana glanced first at the unrolled mission scroll, and then scanned the team list. A particular name struck out to her.

Kakashi Hatake

Team 07:

1. Naruto Uzumaki

2. Sakura Haruno

3. Sasuke Uchiha

_"..._I request team seven," Kana told her, handing the genin sheet back to Tsunade. The Hokage nodded, and slapped an ink stamp over the team as "unavailable". Kana bowed before the Hokage, rolling the scroll up and placing it in one of the open holders on her green flak jacket. She waved her off,

"You're dismissed. Send in the next group after you. " Kana turned on her heel, and strode out of the Hokage's office.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake glanced at the scroll Gemna had brought to him. It still didn't make sense to him. A B-Rank mission was too complicated for a team of genin and only one jōnin to go on. Unless...

Kakashi glanced up at his fellow jōnin, the mask covering half of his face just barely made his mouth movement visible.

"Is there another jōnin going on this mission with my team?" He asked. Gemna chewed the toothpick, and answered,

"No. You're being shadowed by a chūnin. Kana Soyokaze. A chūnin and a jōnin will be enough for the mission, so long as the genin stay in line." Kakashi froze. Kana? She chose to shadow him? Of course, after that mission three years ago, she probably would choose to shadow him.

"You know her?" Genma asked. Kakashi nodded,

"I was the leader of that mission to the Land of Lightning. She was just a genin, and she lost her team that day. I don't think she was ever the same." The silver-haired jōnin's shoulders sunk. That was an awful mission. It was accomplished, yes, but not without casualties. Genma nodded solemnly.

Kakashi only hoped it wouldn't upset her being around his genin team. Not just because of what happened on the armor mission, but there were times when the team members didn't get along, and he knew she wouldn't hesitate to remind them how lucky they are their teammates were alive. Which, Kakashi absolutely understood, but he wasn't as unpredictable as Kana.

"That's a shame," Genma snapped Kakashi out of his thoughts, "No one deserves to see their teammates die."

A gust of wind blew through the training ground, ruffling the clothes and hair of the conversing jonin. Deep green leaves scuttled through the air, and Kakashi took in a long, slow breath.

"You're right," he agreed, "no one deserves that."

* * *

"A B-Rank mission?!" Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed, his blue eyes gleaming with excitement. "No way! We get to go on a B-Rank mission! Alright!" Naruto took to hooting and hollering as though it were some million-dollar prize. His head of messed and spiky blonde hair looking similar to that of a dog's yellow squeaky toy bobbing in water.

Sasuke Uchiha seemed rather pleased by the sudden upping in their mission ranking. Of course, he knew it was temporary, but to him this was a chance to show off his skills in a _real_ mission. He'd show up Naruto once and for all. He'd been getting stronger every day, and wanted to prove it. Not just to Team 7, but eventually to his brother, Itachi, when he finally makes him pay.

Sakura Haruno blinked, her green eyes wide with confusion.

"Kakashi-sensei," she began, "why are we going on a B-Rank mission? That's only for chūnin." Kakashi's eyebrows lifted in what they could only assume was a happy expression.

"I'm glad you asked, Sakura. I'm being Shadowed by a chūnin, who is soon to become a jōnin. There's really no point in bringing her on a D or C-Rank mission because she can't see me in action, and learn how to react in stressful situations. Unfortunately, we're a bit short on jōnin to bring you on a separate mission while I would be gone, so the three of you are tagging along with Kana and I."

"Kana?" Sasuke questioned, "You know who's Shadowing you?"

"Yes, I do. I went on a rather memorable mission with her. Can't believe it's been three years, honestly. I wonder how she's been doing."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow, and Naruto turned his attention to Kakashi at the mention of a "memorable" mission.

"What was so memorable about it?" Sakura asked, tucking a short lock of pink hair behind her ear. The look on Naruto's face made it clear to Kakashi that the blonde genin had totally misinterpreted what he meant when he said "memorable". Not that it was surprising, of course, Naruto was the least mature out of the group.

"It was memorable in the same sense our mission to the Land of Waves where we battled Haku and Zabuza was memorable," he answered her stonily. A hush fell upon the group. It lasted a few, tense moments before Naruto, as usual, broke it.

"So...what happened?"

Kakashi sighed. It was difficult to omit the story to the three sets of curious eyes, especially considering it was such a big part of Kana's life. Of course, that was the part where the boundaries were blurred. It was a big part of _Kana_'s life. Kakashi's as well, of course, but the effects of it impacted the kunoichi much more than he. He thought it about it for a while, tossing around whether to tell them or not before he was interrupted from his decision-making by none other than Sasuke.

"Well?"

"...It's a big part of her life, and it depends on whether Kana is comfortable with you three knowing what happened. If she tells me I can tell you, then I will. If she wants to tell you, she will. If she doesn't want you to know, then you won't know. At least not from me or her. I can't speak for whoever else you ask."

Naruto, seeming surprisingly pensive, chimed in,

"Must've been pretty bad, huh?"

If it made Naruto more thoughtful and considerate, then it had to be worth telling a little bit of.

"Kana Soyokaze, Mataki Hyuga, and Hajime Masahiro were all on a team together. Three years ago, her team and I went on a mission to the Land of Lightning. We had to deliver armor that was originally theirs back to them. To make a long story short, the only one either left alive or still a Hidden Leaf ninja in the genin team was Kana."

All three of the genins' eyes widened to the size of saucers. Kakashi merely nodded. An even longer hushed silence. The rest of it was too personal, and Kana would have to be the one to tell the story. Instead of waiting for Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura to ask the question eventually, he passed the mission scroll to Sasuke. He unrolled it far enough for his other two team members to see. There was a few seconds of quiet, reading over mission summaries, conditions, prices, etc., and then their comments.

"We have to escort a noble lady from the Land of Rivers to the Land of Fire?" Sakura asked.

"That's what it says. It's high ranking, but with the five of us it should be simple."

"Precisely," Kakashi answered his student. He held out his hand for the scroll, and Sasuke tossed it back to him. "We're all meeting by the village entrance gate at seven-thirty sharp. Don't be late, and get lots of rest. You'll meet Kana officially tomorrow. Later." And just like that, Kakashi Hatake burst into a white cloud of smoke, and was gone.

"I really hate it when he does that," Sakura mumbled.

* * *

Kana stared at her reflection in the river beneath the bridge. She saw forest-green eyes, and dark brown hair that brushed past her shoulders just by mere inches. She sighed, worrying at her lip and thinking about the mission. It wasn't the mission itself, but mostly how nervous she was about being around a full team again. A team with pre-made bonds, and she would have to try to look at her situation from a more optimistic perspective.

Kakashi approached the bridge, Kana's figure becoming clearer with every step. The fact that her forearms were still bandaged created a heavy crease in her forehead. He met the brunette's eyes, and gave a quick wave.

"It appears I've found my shadow," he joked. Kana smiled a little bit, Kakashi's pleasant tone certainly helping her feel less worried. She stepped aside to make room for him.

"Now I don't have to do all the looking," she teased in response, "but at least we can save introductions on the mission. For me and you, at least."

"My three genin are really eager to meet you, you know." Kana's gaze ripped from the rippling, blue water to Kakashi.

"They are?"

"Of course. I may have helped the story along a little, but..." Kakashi trailed off. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"You told them?" Kakashi shook his head at Kana.

"I told them what everyone knows, Kana. Mataki died and Hajime went rogue. The rest is up to you to tell."

Kana frowned, drumming her fingers against the red metal railing of the bridge. She wanted to tell them. She wanted to gain their trust. But the question was what would they say? Knowing that she was too weak to save her own teammates.

"I don't need them to think I'm weak, Kakashi-sensei," she informed him wearily.

"And here, I thought the opposite. I think you tell them, they're going to view you as a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You're Shadowing me, remember? They're not going to be focusing on the past missions so much as the fact that they're too excited over being on a B-Rank mission. Naruto will probably buy you ramen just for making the missions more exciting than before." Kana lifted an eyebrow.

"Who's Naruto?" Kakashi smirked at this.

"Someone you're going to like a lot."


End file.
